Chapter 181: Chapter 181 - Forestallment (2)

They got into the food truck and took off just after lunch. Their location was Hollywood. Rachel believed that since there were always many people there, that was the best place to hold a tasting and make it go viral. Rose Island was so popular that marketing wasn’t needed, but leaving a clear impression on people’s minds was different from lingering in the back of their heads.

Since there were so many of them, they couldn’t do with just the truck. The other demi chefs and cooks had to get into Justine’s car.

And of course, the cooks were so nervous that they were unable to exchange words. And the demi chefs were nervous for a different reason, so they didn’t talk either.

In the midst of the silence, Cho Min Joon looked at his phone.

#we’re on our way to Hollywood right now.

We will open a tasting for molecular cooking.

Please come if you’re interested. The address is…

Maya Patel: Molecular cooking? It’s hard to find a fancy restaurant these days that don’t do molecular cooking.

Kylee Wilson: People treat molecular cooking as if it’s completely different from traditional cooking, but that’s just an approach to treat cooking in a scientific manner. To be more exact, not a single dish doesn’t involve molecular cooking.

Ravin May: Congrats, Min Joon. You’ve finally made Kaya into your woman. So when are you getting married?

Cho Min Joon: I’m still 21. I’m too young to get married.

Kaya Reuters: @Cho Min Joon IS that what you think?

Cho Min Joon: @Kaya Reuters … What are you doing here?

A cold air blew over the peaceful comment section. Cho Min Joon stared at his screen with a nervous face, but Kaya didn’t answer. After refreshing the page many times, the comment that popped up belonged to someone else.

Ravin May: Did I cause you to fight?

Jasmyn Osburn: Seems like it.

Anderson Russo: Thanks. I mean it.

Cho Min Joon glanced to his side without a word. Anderson didn’t meet eyes with him and continued to stare at his screen. Cho Min Joon asked in a low voice, “Don’t you have something to say?”

“No.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No.”

In response to Havier’s question, Cho Min Joon slowly shook his head. Havier decided to put a stop to the silence and opened his mouth.

“Anyway, I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Maybe famous people will come as customers.”

“Even if we don’t go to Hollywood, we’ll get tons of customers once we open. And I bet some of them will be famous.”

“Maybe Obama will come.”

In response, the demi chefs and cooks burst into laughter. Only Anderson nodded with a serious face.

“It’s just a matter of when. If they can get through to reservations that is.”

“Aren’t VVIPs usually treated special?”

“Rachel is famous for not being like that. Once you’re at her level, you can do that. People treat famous people special for promotional purposes, but Rose Island doesn’t need that. Of course, I’m sure she treats personal relations well if they happen to come…”

A restaurant that the American president had to line up for. He felt proud for just being a part of their kitchen. It was possible that the reason why many of Rachel’s pupil still stuck around under Rose island… was because of that pride.

“I want to set up a chain for Rose Island one day.”

This kind of remark often came up when talking about stuff like this. But the problem was who said it. Antonio looked at the driver’s seat with a shocked face.

“Justine. You’re still just an apprentice. You can’t be saying that already.”

“Hey.”

Before Justine could even answer, Janet glared at Antonio with a cold gaze. Antonio flinched and answered, “Y-yes?”

“Who are you to stomp on somebody’s dreams? Aren’t apprentices allowed to think about the future? Don’t they have that right?”

“T-that’s not what I meant…”

“Yes, it was. Then what do you think about when you cook? You probably want your own kitchen and restaurant too one day, yet you’re telling an apprentice that she can’t dream of such a thing because she’s still just an apprentice.”

“Chef, I’m fine.”

Justine attempted to cool Janet down. Janet slowly turned her eyes to Justine. Her eyes still looked sharp.

“You’re okay?”

“Yes. Antonio was just joking…”

“Are you saying you’re okay with people joking about your dreams?”

In response, Justine was unable to answer. Janet looked at everybody with discontent. Cho Min Joon put a hand on Janet’s shoulder and spoke in a calm voice, “Janet, I understand how you feel, but don’t go too far. I don’t think Antonio meant any harm”

“… Okay, fine. Get your hands off of me. I’m calm.”

Cho Min Joon took his hand away and glanced over at Antonio. And Antonio got the message and immediately opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry. I won’t joke about someone’s dreams ever again.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“Oh yeah. I’m sorry, Justine.”

“That’s okay.”

“I’m glad that’s settled.”

Havier spoke with a smile. Cho Min Joon nodded.

“Janet is so nice. She takes care of all the younger staff.”

Janet stared at Cho Min Joon as if she was judging his nonsense but shut her mouth. Only she would sound funny by answering him. The cooks in the back whispered amongst each other.

“Nice?”

“Seriously?’

“Whoever calls Janet nice? Especially at a time like this.”

“Let’s try to be understanding. Min Joon is Kaya’s boyfriend.”

Everybody nodded at the final remark.

A moment later, they arrived at their destination. They were in front of a theater in Hollywood. Just as Cho Min Joon and Anderson got out of the car, people rushed over as if they had been waiting. And their voices poured out like explosions.

“Anderson! Can I have a photo?”

“Min Joon, congratulations on dating Kaya!”

“Can I get your autograph?”

Cho Min Joon and Anderson had no choice but to follow along. They took photos, shook hands, and gave signatures with shocked faces. It was a relief that there weren’t too many people.

The others simply watched as they gave out autographs. Havier mumbled with jealousy, “I should’ve gone on Grand Chef, too. Look at all their fans.”

“This is going to happen to them every day. I hate it. I like my peace and quiet.”

“Yeah. That sounds like you.”

In response to Janet, Havier smirked. He then looked over at the cooks. Gerrick mumbled as if it finally hit him, “I forgot they were famous.”

“They’ll become star chefs soon enough since they’re so well-known already.”

“That’s so cool.”

“The four of you. Stop watching and come here. Let’s set up the kitchen.”

“Oh. Yes, Chef!”

In response to Havier, the four cooks ran over. By the time Cho Min Joon and Anderson escaped their fans, the truck was already set up. Cho Min Joon immediately went to the fridge and looked at the jelly pasta. The condition looked good. Cho Min Joon looked back at Gerrick and opened his mouth.

“Just do as you practiced. I believe in you.”

“Yes, Chef!”

The reason why Cho Min Joon was saying that to Gerrick was simple. Rachel instructed the demi chefs to simply serve and explain the dishes instead of cooking themselves.

But there were extra things to do for Cho Min Joon, so he picked Gerrick as his assistant. After all, Gerrick was the most impressive during the auditions. Since the other demi chefs didn’t have much of a preference for cooks, Cho Min Joon was able to take Gerrick without any opposition.

“Let’s do our final checks. You can serve the ravioli as is, and as for the crushed peanuts, don’t make them ahead of time and do it when the orders come in. As for the meatballs, crush them when they’re lukewarm and place them on top of the lasagna. Don’t forget to keep the flavors less powerful. The lasagna jelly has already been seasoned. Okay?”

“Yes, Chef. Don’t worry. I practiced all night long.”

“Really? I don’t see any dark circles.”

“I have great stamina.”

Cho Min Joon smirked and patted Gerrick on the shoulder.

“Okay. I believe in you.”

It was uncertain if it was intentional or an accident, but the demi chefs all used different methods of molecular cooking. Havier made saffron cream anglaise with coffee foam sauce, and Janet made the film ravioli with more different types. And Anderson microwaved egg whites and water mixed together before adding lemon cream made of powder sauce.

Considering they prepared everything in 10 days, the result was quite decent. For that reason, Rachel and Rafael looked confident and energetic in front of the public. Rachel raised her voice.

“Thank you very much for attending our tasting event. The first dishes you’ll taste are final products of 10-days worth of hard work by the demi chefs. And after that, you’ll get to enjoy Rafael’s molecular cooking ice cream.”

“If you remain seated, our demi chefs will go to you and explain their dishes. Please wait in your seats.”

While Rachel and Rafael explained how the tasting worked, Anderson quietly scanned around the audience. He saw some familiar faces. He whispered to Cho Min Joon in a low voice, “Do you see that grandfather with white hair?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“He manages a one-star restaurant downtown. And that Asian woman over there is the owner of a two-star restaurant.”

“… Are they all here to scope us out?”

“Just because we do well won’t mean we’ll influence our sales, but we’ll at least leave an impression. It’s the return of the legend. Even after they shut down, they were known as the best restaurant in LA for years. So that vacant position was probably very desired. Beyond sales, it came with honor.”

Cho Min Joon nodded. Being the very best was sweet and enticing no matter where one was in the world.

The serving began. Luckily, Gerrick was performing to Cho Min Joon’s expectations. Every time he went over with square plates containing three different types of pasta, people looked at them in awe.

“I’m impressed. Didn’t you only start molecular cooking recently?”

“I did, but I’ve always cooked. I want to act like I’m still lacking and be modest, but I can’t say that to my customers who are about to eat my food. Please enjoy.”

“In what order should I eat it?”

“Try the green spaghetti first. The taste of the broth and peanuts will make your palate comfortable. After that, try the lasagna. We’ve added chili sauce and tomato paste to the jelly, so you don’t need to add any other sauce. And the last one is ravioli made of fruits. It’s been matured for a day, so the sweetness will be strong.”

Ironically, Cho Min Joon, who was a foreigner, treated the customers the best. His pronunciation or accent wasn’t an issue. Cho Min Joon’s face contained Havier’s soft smile, Anderson’s seriousness,as well as Janet’s mysteriousness.

Cho Min Joon knew what he had to say. It was possible that his years of being an English teacher was of assistance.

What was for certain was that his attitude made his customers feel like they were being served well. After listening to his calm and friendly explanations, even the complicated flavors of molecular cooking tasted pleasant.

After serving many customers that way, Cho Min Joon headed to his next customer with his dishes. It was a woman with dark long hair and a floral dress. Her big sunglasses covered half of her face, but It was clear she was a beautiful woman. Cho Min Joon smiled and said, “There are many beautiful women in Hollywood.”

“Thank you. May I get an explanation?”

She had a husky voice. Cho Min Joon retraced his memory. He felt like he had heard it before. Cho Min Joon offered the plates and began explaining.

“This green spaghetti is jelly made of basil and chicken broth. We then added some crushed peanuts on top. The lasagna was made with chili sauce and tomato paste, and this ravioli is made with fruit juices. There are pear and lime juices inside.”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“I’m more excited and happy than anyone when serving customers my jelly. That’s how I can help my customers enjoy it as well.”

In response, the woman flashed a smile underneath her sunglasses. If he sensed a natural smile from her, that would have been a misunderstanding. How could he know what her smile meant when half of her face was covered?

The woman opened her mouth.

“You haven’t changed one bit.”

“… I’m sorry?”

The woman spoke as if she knew Cho Min Joon. Of course, many people knew Cho Min Joon through TV, but she wasn’t speaking in that sense. At that moment, Cho Min Joon had a feeling he knew who she was.

She took off her sunglasses. She then spoke in a playful voice.

“I thought you’d recognize me right away… You’re so mean.”

Cho Min Joon’s voice shook.

“… Chloe?”